sill

¹

[ sil ]

noun

1. a horizontal timber, block, or the like serving as a foundation of a wall, house, etc.
2. the horizontal piece or member beneath a window, door, or other opening.
3. Geology. a tabular body of intrusive igneous rock, ordinarily between beds of sedimentary rocks or layers of volcanic ejecta.

Sill

²

[ sil ]

noun

1. Mount, a mountain in E central California, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 14,153 feet (4,314 meters).

sill

/ sɪl /

noun

1. a shelf at the bottom of a window inside a room
2. a horizontal piece along the outside lower member of a window, that throws water clear of the wall below
3. the lower horizontal member of a window or door frame
4. a continuous horizontal member placed on top of a foundation wall in order to carry a timber framework
5. a flat usually horizontal mass of igneous rock, situated between two layers of older sedimentary rock, that was formed by an intrusion of magma

sill

/ sĭl /

1. A sheet of igneous rock intruded between layers of older rock.
2. See illustration at batholith

Other Words From

• sill-like adjective
• under·sill noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sill¹

before 900; Middle English sille, Old English syl, sylle; cognate with Low German süll, Old Norse syll; akin to German Schwelle sill

Word History and Origins

Origin of sill¹

Old English syll; related to Old Norse svill sill, Icelandic svoli tree trunk, Old High German swella sill, Latin solum ground

Example Sentences

Jeffrey Goldberg reported in The Atlantic that Trump reneged on a promise to help pay for the funeral of a Hispanic soldier murdered at Fort Sill.

From Salon

The piece of trunk will become a permanent display at The Sill from the spring and the final design of how it will be shown will be developed from the ideas that are gathered throughout this exhibition.

From BBC

The piece is now the star-attraction in a new exhibition at The Sill visitor centre near Hexham, in Northumberland, which celebrates the life of the tree.

From BBC

"This is also new knowledge. Further into the fjords, the proportion of terrestrial plant parts is greater in the sediments than further out in the fjord, closest to the sill. But as a carbon sink, the fjord works equally well everywhere, regardless of the origin of the organic material," says Per Hall.

From Science Daily

These are often necessary to safely install a unit in a window and prevent it from falling, particularly on a window sill that isn’t flat, which are more commonly found in older buildings — which also frequently have relatively poor insulation and are more prone to retaining heat at night.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• girder
• joist
• piling
• pillar
• plank
• pole
• shaft
• timber